Vehicles designed for carrying cargo, such as the standard pick-up truck, are engineered for optimum handling when loaded to capacity. Unfortunately, traction and handling problems can occur as the result of insufficient weight over the vehicle's rear power-driven wheels. During the winter months, ice, snow and generally slick conditions compound this problem. The resulting loss of traction can cause accidents with injury and damage. Further, starting from either a slippery surface or deep snow with little traction can often be difficult or impossible.
In response, weight bearing substitutes have been used to improve vehicle performance when not loaded with cargo. Many vehicle owners have responded to the problem by using sandbags, bricks or other bulky materials to weigh down cargo areas. These methods, however, while providing the necessary weight for improved traction, take up valuable cargo space and tend to shift weight as they move around the cargo area. Further, bagged material tends to leak as the bags wear, and the bags themselves may become waterlogged making it difficult to remove the material. With certain materials such as salt, water dissolves the material creating a solution which is detrimental to the truck bed. Moreover, loose material can fall out or become dangerous projectiles in the event of a sudden stop or accident.
There is thus a need for a truck bed ballast that provides incremental amounts of extra weight over the rear drive wheels of a pick-up truck and doubles as a storage container for traction-enhancing media, such as salt, sand and/or gravel. There is also a need for a ballast system that protects filler material from the elements. The present truck bed ballast system addresses these needs.